Our featured artist for today, Jeanie Gebhart, paints in oils using a palette knife as her primary tool. This somewhat unconventional painting technique results in images that are an interesting visual leap away from traditional brushwork.

When I look at Jeanie’s abstract works I find I am reminded of seeing an image through a foggy window, or through water. Light and shapes are refracted in such a way that even knowing these are abstractions I can see a myriad of possible images coming to the surface, and then sinking away into the various pigments and layers of paint. The hard edge of a palette knife leaves individual strokes of paint that have an almost geometric quality to them.

Jeanie’s palette knife paintings are very focused in the way that they use colour – often a painting will favour a single colour in various tints, with one or two moments of a complimentary colour making a small appearance. This creates a nice touch of depth in paintings that may seem simple at first glance.

About the author

Dallas Jeffs is the Editor of Artist Run Website's blog. She is a recent graduate of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, where she studied Critical and Cultural Practices. She is passionate about talking and writing about art, and sharing that interest with others. In her studio practice she is a painter, but she considers herself an art writer and educator foremost. If you like art, books and culture with a science fiction twist, check out Dallas' personal blog, HappySpaceNoises